The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/432,656 filed May 11, 2006 now abandoned, which is to be incorporated herewith in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the treatment of inflammation of the inner ear of a mammal, e.g. humans or pets, caused by asteatosis, which treatment comprises topical application of a liquid composition to the inflamed tissue.
2. Related Art
It is well known that a moist environment in the inner ear of a human or a pet can result in various diseases such as Swimmer's Ear. Swimmer's Ear is an example of a common affectation of the ear caused by excessive moisture whereby a swimmer receives contaminated water in the ear or overly moisturizes the ear causing it to succumb to microbial growth (most often pseudomonas). Thus, there are many compositions that are disclosed for use in removing water from and drying the ear canal.
Alcohol is commonly used to clean out the ear, especially of pets, because it dissolves the natural oils and fats present in the ear, but alcohol is also irritating, especially if the ear is presented with lesions or is inflamed. Alcohol evaporates quickly, thereby often over-drying the ear and leaving it red and irritated.
Hydrogen peroxide is also often used to clean pet ears, but it does not dissolve the waxes and oils and does not kill infections as well as does alcohol, although it is usually mild enough such as not to irritate the ear.
Also commonly used to clean pet ears is a mixture of acetic acid and water, or acetic acid and alcohol. While such mixtures are effective in killing bacteria and in eliminating yeast infections, they are not pH balanced and may irritate or actually burn the ear if the pH is too low. Additionally, the acetic acid/alcohol mixture has a tendency to over-dry the ear.
Many people clean their ears and/or the ears of their pets with Q-tips. This procedure can cause dry ear by stripping the protective coating of earwax that protects the skin lining of the ear canal. As a result, the ear canal may suffer from atopic dermatitis or even more serious a skin infection (otitus external can develop in the ear canal
Asteatosis is a common condition of the external auditory canal where the skin surface in the canal is dry and lacks cerumen production. This condition is sometimes associated with aging. Because of the lack of cerumen which is protective of the canal, there is a change in the ph of the canal which may make it more prone to external ear infection. The dryness of the canal skin leads to itching and subsequent scratching and irritation of the canal. It is at this point that many patients will insert cotton tip applicators and other foreign bodies in the canal to alleviate the discomfort. Because there is not cerumen in the canal pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria and fungi may dominate the flora of the canal, cause overgrowth and actual infection. These infections can often time be very difficult to clear up requiring multiple office visits, particularly if these is fungal overgrowth.
Thus, in many instances the ear canal may be over-dry as a result of aging, cleaning or for other reasons.
The problem with over drying the ear canal is that serious diseases or conditions, e.g. inflammation, may be the result.
The present invention provides a method and composition for treating ear inflammation caused by dry ear. The compositions of this invention utilizes as active ingredients, compounds that are derived from natural as opposed to synthetic ingredients.